Oxygen Tank (All Of Me)
by evgrrl09
Summary: A conversation about the perfect significant other sparks some realizations in both Morgan and Garcia. Morgan/Garcia songfic based off of John Legend's "All Of Me." Written for Went.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**Got another songfic prompt from Wen T, this time a happier one! A perfect Morcia song: "All Of Me" by John Legend. I haven't included the lyrics due to FF rules, but the song is on the internet if you wanna hear it! Hope you enjoy it. I love hearing feedback and comments if you have them :)**

"Coffee for the queen," Derek said, ceremoniously depositing a cup of steam in coffee in front of Penelope on her desk. "_My_ queen." He kissed her temple and sat down in his chair next to her to continue their work on case records Hotch had assigned them to do together.

Purring with gratitude, she accepted the cup and put it to her lips. "Why, thank you, Hot Stuff," she said, leaning back in her chair. "While you were gone, I went through the last bit of that Cincinnati file." Picking up her pink notebook, she used her fluffy pen to check off a name. "We've still got three quarters of the list left, though."

He blew out a sigh. "Course we do," he muttered, sipping his coffee. He watched her rub her temples and close her eyes, her lashes resting against her cheekbones. The light of her computers was glowing just right on her skin, illuminating her face with a healthy pink flush. It matched beautifully with her low-cut red dress. Derek saw her everyday, usually looking just like this, but each and every day he was baffled at how beautiful she looked.

"What?" she asked, a giggle bouncing into her voice. Her eyes remained closed as her lips moved. He didn't immediately respond. "I _know _you're looking at me, Morgan." She cracked one eye open and offered him a wry smile. "Don't be shy. Spit it out, Chocolate Thunder."

Shaking his head, Derek laughed. He averted his eyes before speaking. "Ah, I'm just thinking," he grumbled. "I've got a date with Savannah tonight, and I'm not really looking forward to it."

Both Penelope's eyes snapped open. She sat forward with keen interest, mixed with concern peaking in her eyes. "Huh?" She frowned. "Why? You're not excited to get to spend some quality time with your _lady_?" Coughing slightly, she wiggled her brows. Despite her teasing tone, though, he sensed a lack of sparkle in her brandy colored eyes.

"I don't really know," he muttered. "I'm tired, and there are a million other things I'd rather do." Pausing, a slow grin spread across his face. "I'd rather hang out with you and have a movie night than go to some hoity-toity restaurant." A true twinkle entered his eye at that moment. He didn't even need to see his own face to know that.

She blew her bangs out of her face and pursed her lips. "Let me tell you something, sweetheart," she said. "You need to go on dates at hoity-toity restaurants if you want to keep your girlfriend." Taking a sip of her coffee, she swallowed hard before going on. "Savannah is a _great _girl. You two have done a lot to try and make it work, and I think going to a fancy pants restaurant to make sure it still works is a small price to pay for keep the _amour _alive." She finished by raising her coffee cup to him, her wine-colored lips twitching into a smile.

After Penelope's small speech, Derek stared at her for a long moment. His spirit felt deflated, the same way it did after every conversation he and Penelope had about their significant others. He tried time and time again to test the waters with her and let her know that when she thought he was getting ooey-gooey over Savannah, he wasn't thinking of his girlfriend.

Every ounce of adoration Penelope thought Derek had for Savannah was misplaced; that honor belonged solely to Penelope. He didn't call her his God-Given Solace because he held platonic feelings for her. There was nothing remotely platonic about how he felt about her.

Swallowing his desire to shake her and tell her he was talking about ditching Savannah to spend time with her, Derek smiled tightly. "What would I do without your smart mouth, Baby Girl?" he laughed.

"You would have significantly less luck with romance." She grinned.

_I have no luck with romance_, he thought to himself. _At least romance with the one I want._

He watched her quietly for a moment. Her eyes sparkled as she waved her hands and spoke, her voice coming out like the sweetest song he would ever hear. This was something he could do all day, just sit and watch her. Though he could describe how he felt about her with every cliche in the book, Penelope was everything but cliche to him. She meant more to him than anyone in the world, even his girlfriend. There was a level of understanding, a bridge of support between them no one could break. It had taken several chips over the years, but so far, it had yet to collapse.

"Earth to my big black twelve-pack!"

Blinking several times, Derek shook his head and looked directly at her. "Huh? Sorry…I blanked out for a second."

Her lips twitched with amusement. "Yeah, I see that," she remarked.

"What were you saying, Baby?" he asked. "I'm one hundred percent, fully paying attention now."

She giggled. "I was asking you what you think the perfect significant other would be?"

"Oh? You don't know?" he teased. "What about Lynch? You were with the man for four years. That's a long time to be with someone who doesn't have the qualities you find to be _perfect._"

Sticking her tongue out at him, she muttered, "Maybe at one point I thought he was perfect, but at that moment when he asked me to marry him I just couldn't." She paused. "I have no idea why I stayed with him so long. He was _not _the perfect partner."

"So what _are _the perfect partner qualities?" he pushed. "According to Miss Penelope Garcia, that is."

She leaned back once more and looked up at the ceiling, thinking of the words to use. Snapping her fingers, she returned her gaze to him, an excited fire lighting up her eyes. "Okay, I'm gonna give you a scenario. You know when life gets really, really tough? You'll feel like you're drowning, or you'll want everything to just get put on pause so you don't have to freak out? Well, the perfect partner is like…your oxygen tank! They're the someone who sees you for everything — the good, the bad, the _really _bad — and no matter what, they support you." She smiled fondly. "They love all of you."

Derek gulped. "And, ah…do you see that with Sam?"

Arching a brow, Penelope responded right in step. "Do you see that with Savannah?"

_No!_ he wanted to shout. _With you, and only you!_

Instead, he snickered and sipped his coffee again. "Touché, Baby Girl," he laughed.

"We should get back to work," she sighed, leaning forward and moving her chair closer to her computer.

"Yeah," he breathed. "We should."

XXXXX

"So, Morgan and I were having an interesting conversation earlier," Penelope mentioned as she and Sam were sitting down at their table. She allowed Sam to pull her chair out for her and smiled up at him when he rubbed her shoulder.

"Oh?" he said, sitting down across from her. "Wanna share?"

She smiled. "We were talking about…" Pausing, she bit her lip.

Sam laughed. "About…what?"

Snapping out of her momentary daze, she chuckled, embarrassed. "I'm sorry," she said. "Okay, so what we were talking about was…the perfect partner." Even though she opened her mouth to go on, no words emerged.

The only thing she could think about at that moment was Derek and the conversation they had. At first she didn't know if she could articulate it without stuttering. Everything from earlier came rushing back to her. The words she'd spoken were true; the perfect significant other would be her oxygen tank. That was who the love of her life would be.

So far, she had yet to meet that one person.

"So, what'd you talk about?" Sam asked. "In terms of significant other, I mean. Sunsets and sunrises together?"

Gulping, a sudden urge to bolt took over. Remembering the conversation, she began to tremble. What was she doing here? What was she doing without her tank of oxygen? There was one person she knew who fit that description, and one person only.

He was the one who would run into a burning building to save her without a second thought, and the one she would defend vehemently no matter what. He was the one she could ditch the makeup with and she would still be beautiful, and she was the one he could tell about his greatest vulnerabilities. He was the one she could see herself spending her life with, even though she was scared to death of the prospect

of marriage.

Out of the blue, she sprang to her feet and threw the napkin on her lap to the table. Looking around wildly, she mumbled her apology to Sam. "I — I have to go!" she gasped, trying to suck in air. "I'm sorry, Sam. I — just need to…" She met Sam's eyes. "I'll call you, 'kay?"

Without waiting for his response, she rushed out the door of the restaurant and started in the direction of the restaurant Derek had taken Savannah to. She felt guilty for the look of wounded pride on Sam's face, but that didn't matter then.

She needed her oxygen tank, and she needed it now.

XXXXX

"Penelope and I were talking about something interesting earlier," Derek began as he and Savannah sat at the bar of the restaurant while they waited for their table to be prepared for them. He sipped his brandy that had been placed before him.

Savannah's lips twitched into a bemused smile. "What fabulous conversation did you two have this time?" she laughed.

"We talked about what the ideal significant other might be," he explained. "About who the perfect partner is."

Her face became interested. "Are we talking romantic partner here?" She held her glass in her delicate, poised hand and took a drink of her martini.

He nodded. "Yeah, that kind of partner. We went through all the qualifications on the checklist." His mind shot to Penelope in that moment. Penelope and the red dress that hugged every curve of her body. It threatened to take him out of the moment he was presently in, but he forced himself to remain anchored there, lest he alert Savannah to the fact she was not the woman on his mind.

"What'd you guys come up with?"

_I came to the conclusion my best friend is the only one I want,_ he thought longingly.

"Oxygen tanks," he said. "We…we talked about oxygen tanks. A…a perfect partner is that one person who you can depend on no matter what. They're your support through everything, and they see the beauty in you, even when you're messed up. It's not perfect by any means, and you know it isn't." A fond smile covered his face. Penelope's face, rosy cheeks and blonde locks with the trusting brown eyes he'd memorized every inch of.

"But none of that matters," he continued. "It doesn't matter because while it isn't perfect on the surface, it's perfect for you. It's perfect for you because that person is —"

He was surprised when Savannah finished for him. "Because that person is your best friend," she finished. A strange look crossed her face at that moment.

All he could do was nod dumbly. "Yeah, I guess," he breathed. Shaking his head, he rose to his feet and downed his brandy in one fell swoop. "I…" His voice trailed off.

"Have to go." A wounded expression crossed her face, but then she placed her hand over his and gave it a squeeze. "Then, go."

Derek squeezed her hand back and nodded before starting for the door. He didn't say anything; he just headed down the busy sidewalk towards the restaurant Penelope was at.

XXXXX

Penelope walked hurriedly down the sidewalk, hurrying past people as fast as her silver high heels would carry her. Everything depended on finding Derek. She didn't know if he would want to hear anything she had to say, but all she needed to do was speak her mind.

_You can do this, Garcie_, she told herself.

She didn't know how she would tell him, but if experience told her anything, just coming out and telling him how she felt would be sufficient. Derek wasn't big on beating around the bush. It was part of what made him so special to her. It rivaled her desire to use too many words perfectly.

As she walked, she looked up at the moonlit sky, crossing her fingers things would go well. It was either he would reciprocate, or he would laugh in her face and she would completely humiliate herself. Not to mention she would ruin his date.

"Baby Girl?"

She looked around and fifty feet in front of her, almost concealed by the throngs of people, was Derek. He was dressed in his date clothing, and she half expected Savannah to appear in the crowd as well. However his girlfriend was nowhere to be seen.

It was solely Derek, a grin spread across his face.

And all of the sudden she knew he was standing on the streets of Quantico for the same exact reason she was. A sense flared up in the back of her brain, and a smile covered her own face.

Hurrying forward, she power-walked in his direction. About then she was regretting not wearing shorter heels. But when they reached each other and halted, staring at one another with ridiculous grins covering their faces.

"You're my oxygen tank," she blurted, looking up at him.

He pulled her close by the waist and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. His face was a mere few centimeters from hers. "Is that Garcia-talk for 'I love you' by any chance?" he asked, his breath warm against her lips.

Both her arms wrapped around his neck, she grinned coyly. "What do you think?" she purred. Her fingers traced patterns on the back of his neck.

"Then I love you, too," he finished, almost not finishing his declaration before she crashed their lips together.


End file.
